Soldier home for Thanksgiving performs first aid on downtown shooting victim

When Cpl. Brandon James Liddy heard gunshots in downtown Windsor early Friday morning, the military trained soldier slipped into autopilot.

First, he took cover behind a wall outside the club where he’d been attending a networking event. Then, he looked out to see what was happening.

“The shooter was running away,” said Liddy, an imagery technician for the Canadian Armed Forces stationed in Gatineau, Que. He was home to celebrate family Thanksgiving in Tecumseh.

Liddy saw the victim walk to the side of the road, stumble and then collapse.

“Immediately, I went over to him — I knew something was really, really wrong.”

Windsor Police said Monday the victim, a man in his mid-20s, remained in critical condition in hospital after being shot multiple times near Ouellette Avenue and Maiden Lane around 1:45 a.m. Friday.

Liddy took off his suit coat and got down on his knees to introduce himself to the victim, who was still conscious. Liddy told the man he was with the Canadian Armed Forces and trained in first aid, and then asked if he could help. The man said yes.

“I went through the motions of doing first aid, feeling for wetness, the blood, and feeling for holes in his clothes for gunshot wounds.”Liddy removed his belt and used it as a tourniquet after finding a gunshot wound in the man’s arm.

When he found two more wounds in the man’s chest, he ordered a bystander to take the shirt off his back to patch the holes. Another bystander held pressure on the wounds to stop the bleeding. Liddy performed first aid on the man until emergency personnel arrived to take over.

After doing it in practice over ten years being in the military, it was an automatic thing

“There was no actual hesitation,” said Liddy. While others were asking if the three bangs had come from a cap gun, he was running to help.“After doing it in practice over ten years being in the military, it was an automatic thing,” he said. “I used the training that I’ve done so many times in a scenario in real life.”

Word of Liddy’s heroics spread quickly over social media after he published a tweet detailing the events of his first hour in Windsor. He included three pictures of small bloodstains on his pants, sleeve, and shoes. He’s been receiving messages of thanks from strangers on the internet ever since.

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